Now and Forever
by MissMandS
Summary: The stench of dragon reaches every corner of the room and covers each item. From what limited light the lanterns offer the room is small, the corners of it nearly filled to the brim with gold and gems. The corners untouched by gold are and gems are taken over by the tail of Smaug which moves lazily back and forth.


The silence of the treasure hall is almost deafening. Fili blinks once. Twice. And then turns towards Thorin who wears just as a startled, anxious expression on his face. The treasure hall is empty of any dragons. It's filled to the very brim though with gold, jewelry and all sorts of gems; mountains and mountains of them, glittering and shining. None of them move though, waiting for Smaug to burst forth from the mountains and reign down fire. They're each watching with baited breath, afraid that one movement will awaken the beast wherever he is. There's a stench of dragon in the air, a sharp and rather bitter smell. It's mingling with the dirt and sweat caking them but still the scent hovers of them, strong and unrelenting.

"Uncle…Should we go down?" Kili's voice seems far too loud even though it's only a whisper. It bounces off the walls, ricochets off the gold and gems until wraps around her, squeezing tightly and threatening to suck the very life from her. None them have moved and with each second ticking by it feels like they're slowly becoming frozen, their feet becoming rooted into the ground and holding them there. Fili's eyes move to Thorin's throat, watching his Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallows thickly.

"Step cautiously and prepare yourselves to run." Thorin finally decides and takes a small step down. There's a moment of pause, waiting for a dragon to burst forth from the gold. But the deafening silence just grows, threatening to become a roar. There is no movement, no gold slipping, no gems sliding. There is nothing but the baited breath of the company and her thumping heart. Another step and Fili is swallowing hard. Another and she is bracing herself to run. Another and her knees are threatening to buckle on her. Another and she is stepping onto the gold.

"Do you think he's gone?" Ori finally asks and again, his voice is far too loud.

"It would seem that way." Thorin says quietly and looks back at them. Dori is shuffling anxiously from foot to foot, looking uncertainly from the gold back to Thorin.

"Perhaps we should rest for the night." Dori suggests quietly. There's a look on Thorin's face for a moment, a dark shadow crossing over it only to disappear when he blinks. He doesn't move for a moment and then he's turning back towards them, nodding. Rest. Rest for tonight. Fili barely hears his words about resting and finding a suitable spot for them to sleep. She still looks at the gold warily until finally she turns away and begins to follow after them.

The air is tense that night. There are no jokes or stories shared between them, no songs sung. Each member of the company sits on their makeshift bedrolls, listening for any signs of Smaug. There hasn't been any noise that she can hear from the treasure hall; no gold slipping, no gems sliding. It's deafeningly silent again. They sit up together, taking turns on watch. Right now Dwalin is on watch, clutching his weapons tightly. Fili is lying on her makeshift bedroll, listening to the snore and anxious breathing that surrounds her. Everything in the mountain seems so muffled, so dark and unwelcoming. That; along with the idea that a dragon is lurking somewhere in here and waiting for them only serves to put her more on edge.

"Go to sleep Fee." Kili mumbles beside her, reaching out and giving her arm a squeeze. She reaches up and gives his arm a squeeze, listening to his breathing. It's slowly evening out, his hand growing more and slacker until it starts to slide off her arm. Fili sits up slowly, moving his back to rest across his chest carefully before she stands up.

"I'll be back." Fili says quietly to Dwalin, giving his shoulder a touch as she steps out of the room. She doesn't have to relieve herself but she won't bother with correcting him. Really, she needs to stretch her legs and get away from the stiffness of the room. Fili takes small, quiet steps away from their makeshift campsite, an old hallway. She waits for the telltale signs of someone shifting, waking up and preparing to follow her. There's only silence though so with a deep breath and a final tiptoe she begins to walk down the hallway. She keeps one hand on the wall and the other dipping towards her feet. Behind her the sound of breathing fades away and she is left once more with the deafening silence. The laughter is what comes unexpectedly. It's light and tinkling, cutting through the air like a knife and shattering the silence. Fili pauses in her slide down the wall, her hand reaching for one of her knives when it comes again.

The laughter comes again, softer and this time with the pitter patters of feet. The laughter is definitely a woman's. There are no boots clumping, no armor chinking. The only sounds are of a woman's laughter and her bare feet running across the stone. It's as clear and sharp as the scent of dragon. Fili can hear her laughter echoing off the walls, ricocheting off the floor and wrapping around her. There's a flash of silvery blonde hair, a tall figure and a flash of pale skin ducking around a corner. Fili swallows hard, her fingers wrapping around the hilt of her dagger.

"Your dagger cannot harm me Fili, daughter of Jili. Your attempt at attack will only end with a missing weapon. Might I suggest you put it away?" The first thing she sees is a pale hand with long, slender fingers motioning for her to come forward.

"How do I know you're not going to harm me?" Fili demands. There's a sigh and then the hand disappears, only to return a few moments later. It holds a knife which is quickly tossed onto the floor, skittering to a stop by Fili's boot. The owner of the hand emerges from its hiding spot slowly, giving view first to bare feet and long limbs. Following it is a tall figure wearing a wispy white dress, long silvery blonde hair dipping towards their waist. Their face is sharp, the cheekbones high and a nose straight and slender. An anxious feeling spreads through Fili's stomach as she stares at her, her throat going dry as the figure holds out their hand.

"I am the Lady Galadriel and you. You are Fili, daughter of Jili. I ask that you come with me now." Galadriel inclines her head.

"If I do not want to come with you?"

"I will not force you. But the prophecy will fulfill itself one way or another. If you do not come with me then Smaug will bring fire and death to Laketown and dragon sickness to your uncle. And the king's jewel, it will be used like a child's toy for a war." Fili frowns, glancing towards the weapons on the ground and then back at the woman.

"Smaug is not here." The only answer she gets is a strange smile as the woman turns and motions for her to follow her. Fili glances over her shoulder towards their makeshift camp and then at the waiting woman. There's a moment of hesitation and then she stands up, following after her.

* * *

Galadriel walks silently, her footsteps whispers across the uneven stone floors unlike Fili's boots which clomp and seem to make the very mountain shake. She doesn't look the least bit bothered by the darkness or the idea that a dragon could be hiding in these hallways, waiting to eat them or burn them alive. She walks with ease as if she has lived here her entire life and even stops a few times to admire some destroyed tapestries on the walls or to pick up a piece of gold from the floor. She's creating a small pile in her hands and by the fifth piece smiles at Fili, again.

"We're nearly there." Galadriel promises.

"Where exactly is there?" Fili asks quietly. Galadriel doesn't answer, only leading her deeper into the halls. The smell is growing sharper, stronger and bitterer. There's an underlying scent to it now, floral and delicate but it does little to mask the sharpness of the dragon scent. Fili bites back a gag as the scent becomes overwhelming, threatening to choke her and steal all of her air. Galadriel doesn't look the least bit bothered by the scent as she steps aside, gesturing for Fili to go ahead of her. She stands frozen though, staring with wide eyes at the pair of dark yellow eyes staring at her. The dragon lifts its massive head slowly, nostrils flaring as it looks from her to Galadriel and then lets out a massive yawn.

"Beautiful isn't he? Come Smaug, move out of her way." Galadriel is sitting on a pile of rubble, patting her thigh. The dragon looks like it might defy her for a moment then she holds up her hand and with a flash of light the dragon is clambering over to her. The dragon lays his head in her lap, letting out an almost angry sounding breath as she runs a hand down his neck. The room is dark and mostly rubble, heaps and heaps of stone with nests of gold and gems piled up. What little light they have comes from lanterns hanging along the wall. The stench of dragon reaches every corner of the room and covers each item. From what limited light the lanterns offer the room is small, the corners of it nearly filled to the brim with gold and gems. The corners untouched by gold are and gems are taken over by the tail of Smaug which moves lazily back and forth.

"What am I doing here?" Fili asks and Smaug's tail slows ever so slightly. Galadriel doesn't lift her head but her eyes flicker from the top of his head to Fili's face. A pile of gold rattles and the lanterns shake. Smaug's tail lifts and comes to wrap protectively around himself and Galadriel. The corners of Galadriel's lips turn up into an almost smile as Smaug lets out a low rumble from deep within its throat.

"He is coming." It takes her a moment to realize that the voice is coming from Smaug, deep and raspy. It's like a punch to her gut and nearly has her scrambling backwards as the dragon looks at her.

"Who's coming?"

"The thief in the shadows." Panic creeps up in her throat. Thief. Surely none of the company was stupid enough to venture into the treasury; surely none of them followed her. Surely Kili didn't follow her. Fili's chest constricts and she looks from Smaug and Galadriel to the shaking piles and trembling lanterns. The ground is shaking beneath her feet now with the sound of heavy footsteps, loud and echoing throughout the mountain. Smaug's tail flicks out; wrapping itself around her and pulling her towards Galadriel. The touch of his scales is almost scalding hot and only serves to send more panic up into her chest.

"Stay still." Smaug rumbles, tightening his tail around her middle at her attempts to squirm.

"What are we waiting for?" Fili whispers. Galadriel doesn't answer, only flickers her eyes towards a spot, hidden away from the lanterns and gold. The steps are coming closer, becoming louder now and with them a deep rumbling growl. It feels loud enough to deafen her and she nearly claps her hands over her ears. The first thing into the room is a face, filthy with blood and dust. It's familiar to Fili only in stories and legends. She's kept from moving by Smaug's tail and can only gape as it stares at her.

"Frerin…" And from behind him comes a snort as the snout of a green dragon enters the room.

"Welcome back thief in the shadows." Smaug rumbles and lets his tail uncurl from around her, dropping her to the floor.

* * *

Yep, I'm jumping on the bandwagon of dragon Bilbo. And I felt like doing rule 63 a little bit differently this time.

I have a tumblr now by the way. Same name as on here. I'll link it on here whenever I get the chance.


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